NeuroScript and Handwriting Methods

The following is a quote from Hans-Leo Teulings, who is researching handwriting and its instruction.

Also the word “cursive” is multi interpretable.

In Dutch printers’ terms “cursief” means: “slanted font”, what in English is called “Italic font”.

So cursive and Italic have overlapping, maybe identical meanings.

The difference between fully connected and partly connected handwriting is minute when you realize the worldwide trend towards teaching methods like: “Children, now you produce the letters with your pen just like the letters you see in the books”. No need to offer any handwriting lessons.

We need somehow to shake up the educational world by stressing the need that every skill like golf, piano playing, basket ball, and handwriting needs learned. Only then the question arises: handprint or cursive? When cursive, will it be partly connected or fully connected.

Handprint is like producing the normal font: Times normal,

or even worse caps only: TIMES NORMAL.

Cursive handwriting is like producing the Italic font: Times italic.

Do you see the little ligatures at the end of most Italic (cursive) letters? That could be the core meaning of “cursive”. These are the shapes you would make with a quill.

In this grand scheme the difference between fully connected, one-stroke words and partly connected letters becomes only a point AFTER it has been established that handwriting does not come naturally but needs learned.

The position that handwriting is a much needed, to-be-learned skill will be weakened if we start making a distinction between fully and partly connected handwriting. If we do not get a common denominator that for some students partly connected is better and for other students fully connected is better, we will shy away any adminstrator who wants to steer towards something beyond handprint. If there is no common sense, it will indeed be a can of worms for the administrators, which will paralize any handwriting method that ventures beyond handprint, no matter whether it is partly or completely connected. I hope I could explain my point well.

So we need to focus on why and how do we learn handwriting other than handprint.”